A Perfect American Family for a Perfect American Audience

Saturday Night Live has always been good at observing the way our society works and reflecting on it through humor and skits. One particular skit, “The Dudleys”, is about a family sitcom that goes through several changes. The sitcom begins with a typical white nuclear family as its main characters, but after several complaints surface on twitter about how it’s 2014 and one of the characters should be gay, suddenly Mrs. Dudley is replaced by a gay man. All is well until more complaints pop up because there aren’t any black family members. Next thing you know, Mr. Dudley is replaced by a gay black man. The show and its characters continue to evolve as more complaints come in until finally they end up back where they started with the white Mr. and Mrs. Dudley.

This skit shows not only the influence of social media over entertainment but also that in an time where being “politically correct” is held in such high regard, it is difficult to achieve that “correctness” in the media and in everyday life. No matter how much is done to please the public, there is always someone who will have a complaint. Some will say that things need to be more radical, others will think things need to be more conservative. There is no doubt that shows today receive complaints just like “The Dudleys” received. It seems like every show on television recently has at least one gay character and one black person. However, these characters often take on supporting roles, or are just there for comedic relief, and the incorporation of them into the shows sometimes feels forced.

The role that these characters play in T.V. and films should no longer be a stereotyped one. Blacks, gays, and other minorities shouldn’t only be represented in the media as the “token friends” or sidekicks.The entertainment we consume on a daily basis constantly shapes ideologies of what it means to live in America. If the media were to be politically correct in a responsible and truthful way, rather than a sugar coated way, perhaps the perception of American life could then be an honest one.